Your body is yours, and you take personal responsibility for its upkeep, carefully monitoring what goes into it and how much exercise it gets. The same goes for your career. You recognize that it’s in your power (to some extent) to determine the kind of labour you’ll spend your days pursuing. And this principle is equally true of your money. You earned it with your own two hands, and where it ends up going will really be up to no one but you.
Therefore, it’s best to waste no time in assuming the full burden of this financial responsibility. If you decide to invest regularly, no matter how little, in a financial instrument that looks set to gain in value, you’ve made a good start. The problem, in many cases, arises when someone realizes the full spectrum of investment opportunities that are available out there, because there’s no shortage of people campaigning on behalf of each one of them. As a result, we tend to feel unqualified to make a decision on this score, not least because there seems to be a whole army of “qualified” financial advisers who speak in a jargon we find incomprehensible. Why can’t we invest with our common sense, like we do most other things in our lives?
The answer is that we can. The times we live in make this more straightforward than ever before. The advent of online trading platforms gives you the opportunity to trade in any of the world’s major financial markets, using only your smartphone or PC. What’s that you say? You have no experience in this area? You’re not financial-minded? That’s nonsense and we’ll explain why.
Start Reading
It does not take years of intense study in elite institutions in order to learn how to manage your money. You can start today by searching for a financial news article that piques your interest and reading the whole thing. You may find that you become fascinated by three or four issues that are mentioned along the way. Why not follow up on these? Do a Google search on each one of them and see what comes up. As you’ll find out, financial news is interesting, complex, and relevant – not colourless, boring, and inhuman, as many believe it to be. Your study of it can progress organically and need not be boxed into inflexible structures. Let your reading range far and wide – but also deep, because why be content with superficial understanding?
Open a Brokerage Account
Check out some of the online brokerages that are well-reputed and safe. You’ll need to open an account with one of them, ultimately, in order to start trading. Be quick to scroll past any “brokerage” that advertises with 99% certainty that they can quadruple your money within a month, because this is invariably a scam. The broker you choose should be regulated by an official trading authority and licensed to operate in the field. Look for ones that have been around a while, because this indicates their operation is running well and is meeting legal standards.
Good brokerages offer trading apps with useful tools, which you can use for drawing live charts on your instruments, checking on key economic events that will move prices, and even polishing your understanding of fundamental trading concepts. Don’t worry about the fact that you’re not yet able to utilize all these tools. With some diligent effort on your part, it won’t take long before you can. Your aim, right now, is to propel yourself into a healthy cycle of learning and trading, trading and learning. Needless to say, though, the amounts of money you’re going to start off trading with will be modest.
The Inner Battle
Once you’re in the swing of things, don’t think the battle is won. Even as you master fundamental and technical analysis, learning to invest with your mind and not your emotions, the fact remains that recognizing reality for what it is, is a challenge for all of us. Your charts might be telling you that your instrument is due for a serious dip, but, if you’ve invested a serious wad of cash in your deal, it won’t be easy to just say goodbye to it. This is especially true if you’re picturing yourself this evening, telling your spouse how much you lost today and watching the reaction slowly spread across her face. Or imagine the case where it’s within your grasp to earn big – enough to splurge on a major vacation – if only you can hang on until prices rise a little bit more. The point is clear: When money gets involved, don’t think you can analyze the facts objectively.
Start Your Engines
What can be done about this inner battle? Well, the same things we do when we struggle to understand other aspects of our lives: Do your best to learn the way things work and cultivate self-awareness. The first of these means rooting your head in trusted principles and data, not in your intuition or your sense of being charmed. The second means that, when you feel the impulse to lay your entire trading balance on the line for a single deal, convinced you are about to make your fortune and retire for life, you stop and take a deep breath.